Connections Volume 13, Number 1, Fall 2002

              CONNECTIONS Fall 2002ı
A newsletter from the Ubrarles In Ihe faculty of The Clare mont Co lle~ es Volume U/ Num her 1
DIRECTOR'S COLUMN
Assessing Our Services and Resources-- Now's the Time
New College 10 Cards for Facoltv
The implementation of the CARS Student Information System at the five undergraduate col­leges
necessitated the change of identification num ­bers
for all students, faculty, and staff. Also new this year is the Blackboard Optim sys­tem,
which is being used Consortium- wide for meal plans, at Pomona for build­ing
access, aswell asfor entry into the Honnold/ Mudd Library.
Data in Blais as well as in the Blackboard system has been changed to reflect the new numbers in use by the five undergraduate colleges. Therefore, old- style identification cards and numbers are no longer valid forservicessuchas accessing databasesand elec­tronic
journals from off- campus, interlibrary loan requests, My Blais, and entry into Honnold/ Mudd Library.
CGU and KGI faculty, while not necessarily requ ired to obta in a new ident if icat ion card, are welcome to check with the Libraries to make sure that the num­ber
in the Libraries' systemsmatches the number on their identification card.
Faculty members are encouraged to pick up their
NEW IDS continued p. 2
.
.
•_/
.,.,
- INSIDE THIS ISSUE- AIm , "",' 13< ) OK' Nrw STAfF Ou- C \ 1'. 11' 1 ... Acu-:" TO D" r.\ ItA.., r...
Honnold/ Mudd
TH,\ Chli\ l; O lml. H
Hlt:) ll[ ;" f',
Exinurrs C." U:, N'Ii,\ H
Seeley G. Mudd Sprague
It has been more than a dozen years since the services and resources of the Libraries underwent an extensive review. That 1988 review, guided by a committee of faculty members, administrators, and library staff identified general and specific concerns and made several rec­ommendations.
These recommendations ranged from the global to the minute- from " monitor new technologies that promise to contribute to fur­ther
economies and greater use of the libraries" to " have a bell to announce library closing." Library staff addressed all the review recommen­dations
and those within our control were implemented, many of them to a far greater extent than imagined by the review committee.
In the intervening years, much has changed both for the Claremont Libraries and for libraries in general. Today, we rely extensively on the internet and especiallyon the wo rlel wide web for delivering both resources and services. " Going to the library" for many of our faculty and students now means doing so from the comfort of an office, dorm room, or home. Much library business- renewing books, identifying materials for research projects, asking a reference question, reading both books and journal articles. to mention just a few cxamples- i- occurs with users who are outside our physical buildings. Nevertheless, our instructional program, references services, special collections, study areas, and other services con ­tinue
to bring students, faculty, staff, and community users into
our buildings,
Not being content with addressing concerns identi­fied
in the 1988 review, we have continued to seek informa­tion
through surveys and focus groups to determine if we
have the right mix of services and to assess how well we are doing with the services we offer. However, we have not attempted a review as comprehensive as the 19M review:
and WASC, the regional accrediting agency, has pointed out that the Libraries have not been reviewed recently as part of an accreditation visit to any of The Colleges.
As a result of conversations between the staffs of WASC and the Claremont University Consortium, of which we are a unit, we have agreed to undertake athorough Librariesreview. Our LibrariesSelfStudyTeam, led by Alberta Walker, Associate Director of Libraries, is gathering back­ground
information and overseeing four separate groups working on key components of the Self Srudy. These components are drawn from items identified in our Strategic Plan ( sec http :// voxlibris. c1aremonr. edu/ geninfo/ rnissio n/ strategicplan. html). Three of the elements selected focus on our current programs and services. They are how our collections, especially the journal collections, support the academic programs at the Colleges; how librarians and faculty collaborate to enhance student learning ( a particular emphasis of WASC); and how our spaces meet users' needs for study, research, collaboration, and reflection . The fourth component is designed to reflect upon our appropriate roles in development of a Claremont digital library.
This Self Study, in cooperation with WASC, wilt be completed in
DIRECTOR'S COLUMN cont inued p. 2
r --
TheLibraries of The Claremont Colleges
ROO North Dartmouth Avenueı Claremont, CA 91711- 3991ı
CAMPUS MAIL Artists' Books Collected at Denison Library
NEW IDS co nt d
new identificationcardsat the
following locations:
Claremont McKenna, Scripps,
Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, CUC, and
KGI: Office of Campus Dining
and Access Servi ces, 201 Steele
Hall
Pomona: Office of Campus Life, Sumn er 116
CGU: Office of the Registrar, Harpe r East
Cindi Trainor; Hon n okl/ Xtnck]
ciluli. lraillOrWlihra ries. d arelll( JlII. edu
DIRECTOR'S COLUMN contd.
the next severa l months and an externalreview team will visit Claremont in fall 2003. Your facnlry co lleagues who are members of Library Cou ncil have agreed to read and comment on our drafts as they an: prepared. In addition, a web port folio will document the work of the Sdr Study Team and will be available for your review. We hope th: lt you will take advantage of opportunities to assist us in this major assessment that will influence and shape the Libraries for years to co me.
I iollnil - Clemens l n rector ofLibraries, ( ~,. 1. 18045 IX) llllie. clelllells@ lilJmrie.\. ci